Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 1991

Background: The Uppsala and Network Models of Internationalization belong to the Nordic School and were created based on Swedish companies. Is that possible to apply these models to a Brazilian context? Brazilian companies are becoming more international and expanding to foreign markets, and this study is going to exam if the Nordic schools models can be used to explain the internationalization process of a Brazilian company. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to exam if the proposition, that states that the Uppsala and the Network Models combined can explain the internationalization process of a Brazilian company, is correct. Method: To collect material for this thesis an interview with the case company was done and also secondary data was used from the company. Results: It is possible to state that the combination of the two models is able to explain the internationalization process of the studies Brazilian company. It is also possible to state that where the Uppsala Models lacks explanation value, the Network Model can be applied.

Background: In recent years globalisation has become the recipe for companies to enter foreign market in order to increase sales. Today internationalisation strategy is not limited to large firms as small and medium size firms have taken the challenge to explore international market in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. In this thesis, I and my co-author intend to investigate the internationalisation process of two Swedish firms, Vaderstad AB and ContextVision AB. Purpose: Our aim is to develop a model to provide a solid explanation of today’s Internationalization process. The model will be generated on the basis of studying three models, and the two Swedish firms’ Internationalization process. The model will also be inspired by Luostarinen&Welch (1988 in Kosonen, 1991) dimensions of internationalisation. We aim to suggest this model to firms which intend to begin internationalization process. Result: Two Swedish firms in our thesis conduct different internationalization strategies when they go to international market. Based on the empirical evidence and previous researches it is possible to develop a new model that can provide a holistic view of a firm internationalisation process

How is competition affected when market boundaries appears none-existing? Our way of communicating and interact has changed the business landscape and created one, international market accessible to all companies striving for competitive advantage (McDougall et al., 2000). Internationalization is the name of the process where firms cross national boundaries and take part of this international market. There are several theories describing this phenomenon, however one of the first models presented was one by the Swedish researchers Johanson and Vahlne in 1977. The Internationalization Process model, also known as the IP model, explains the internationalization of firms as an incremental process of international involvement where knowledge about foreign markets and market commitment affect the way a company proceed internationally. Today’s business landscape has introduced a new kind of companies, a product of our connected world; born global firms are increasing in numbers and described as small, often high technological firms aiming for the international market right after establishing. As the authors of this master thesis we found it interesting that a model such as the internationalization model is still used, discussed and referred to. How can a model deriving from the 1970´s still have such importance in today’s changed world? Is it even applicable for this new business arena that the born global firms constitute? Our research question has been as follows; How does Johanson and Vahlne’s internationalization process model work in practice for born global firms? The way we have analysed our findings is according to our purpose of the study; to define a born global company according to existing theories, examine its relation to the internationalization process model and create a more dynamic version of Johanson and Vahlne’s model. The research process has been carried out as a qualitative study where we have made a deep study of a small, high technological company in Umeå called Seaflex. We have also included an interview with the Swedish Trade Council to support and broaden our empirical findings. Since our aim is to draw conclusions about an existing theory, we have undertaken a deductive approach in our research. After conducting our research we have in our analysis defined Seaflex as a born global company, examined its relation to internationalization and then, in specific to Johanson & Vahlne’s internationalization process model. Finally in our conclusions we present a new internationalization process model focused on born global firms. Our findings are that when born global firms go international, the knowledge needed can be mainly obtained through the development of relationships with partners and new opportunities are discovered through the deliberate use of networks. Due to the fact that our research involves solely one company, we are aware of its limited generalization. Therefore, our main suggestion for further research is to examine our suggested model however with a much broader perspective taking several born global firms perspectives into account.

This Bachelor thesis studies the internationalization strategy of a Finnish label stock company, UPM Raflatac, in China during the late 1990’s. The purpose of this descriptive study is to facilitate the understanding of companies’ internationalization processes. This was done by studying UPM Raflatac’s internationalization strategy’s connection to the internationalization theories of the Uppsala model and the eclectic paradigm. The findings were established by presenting an Internet based questionnaire for the employees of the company. The results showed that the company did not have a country specific strategy and that the resemblance to the reference material was therefore limited.

Aim: After discussing marketing issues with representatives from a number of companies established on the Chinese market, we came to the conclusion that it would be interesting and useful to further investigate relationship marketing models from a Swedish perspective when doing business in China.   The aim of the study is to highlight, by examples and experiences from firms dealing with or on the Chinese market, what makes up successful marketing between Swedish and Chinese businesses.   Research question: Is relationship marketing with a dash of guanxi the recipe of success for Sino-Swedish businesses?   The result of successful relationship marketing is a marketing network and it is an important asset for companies today. Competition is not between single business units or entities any more but between marketing networks (Kotler et al., 2006).   To get a full view of relationship marketing between Sweden and China, we have also studied the Chinese culture context.   Method: We interviewed 10 firms in various industries. Common for all respondents is an extensive experience of over 5 years of doing business in China. A questionnaire was used as a foundation for the interviews.   In the analysis findings regarding how the respondents have handled their internationalization process are highlighted. Also how they handle the relationship marketing on a market, where guanxi have been a dominating way of doing business.   Result and conclusions: Relationship marketing with a dash of guanxi is the road that most companies take already today and should take if not yet doing so. As we can see from the study, China is not under as strong influence of guanxi as it used to be. Our respondents offer insights and examples of that Chinese businessmen and women are adapting a more global approach to business negotiations. Operating on the Chinese market requires a relationship marketing approach although it is more personalized to better suit the Chinese culture context.   Suggestions for future research: * Relationship marketing in China and corruption: how is it handled, avoided, viewed. * Relationship marketing in Sweden by Chinese firms: How can Chinese firms succeed on the Swedish market? * Deeper research into relationship marketing strategies for Swedish companies in China. * Study Swedish firms on the Chinese market today and how they experience the paradoxes mentioned by Fang and Faure (2008).   Contribution of the research: The study offers insights in the actual marketing strategy implementation and how firms with extensive experience from China and the Chinese market approach it.

This thesis is an effort to analyze the importance of business network partners for successful participation in trade shows for small firms to grow more in international markets. This study would be helpful to demonstrate the value of trade shows. Trade shows provide the opportunities to introduce new products, expand network connection, and enhancing firm’s corporate image. To participate in any trade show may be a very lucrative process, but there are many challenges and tasks which are to be met to get the maximum share of international market. To analyse the effectiveness of business network for successful participation in trade shows, I have included one case study of trade shows, named Beauty World 2009, held at Frankfurt Germany. In this show, among the firms from all over the world, 16 small companies manufacturing beauty instruments, companies from my home city, namely Sialkot, Pakistan, also participated. Their experiences, participation, views and observation will also be used to analyze the importance of trade show for creating new business networks through this show. This research indicates the effectiveness of network member providing support to small and growing firms for successful participation in trade shows. With the help of these network members, trade shows can be used as exclusive platforms to introduce new firms, as well as products, to potential consumers. In general, we can indicate that existing network partners, if mobilized accordingly, have the ability to reduce the overall cost incurred at trade shows.

Due to the globalization trend, the internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become a common practice in the last decades. The New Product Development (NPD) is recognized as innovative value creating effort that has become important in the high-risk, globally competitive environment, and small firms seem to be more effective in utilizing product design and manufacturing involvement, while large firms standardize and formalize the product development practices. Thus, the main focus of this research study is the NPD capabilities and the internationalization process. The main research question focuses on whether and how the NPD capabilities influence the internationalization process of the companies in the health industry. A qualitative study is carried out to answer the research question by interviewing three Swedish companies in the health industry. The empirical findings and analysis conclude that the NPD capabilities and the internationalization process go along with each other and they are both dependant. There is a positive relationship between the NPD capabilities and the internationalization process, but it is not yet defined which one has a greater influence.

No description available.

In this study the authors wanted to find out what role networking and knowledge play for a Swedish company that wants to enter the Nigerian market. This was done by using a qualitative approach and conducting interviews with HQS AB a Swedish company that entered Nigeria, the Swedish Trade Council and the Nigerian Embassy. No studies have previously been done about the internationalization process for a Swedish firm entering Nigeria therefore this essay provides empirical findings that can be useful for Swedish firms that want to enter Nigeria and for researchers within international business. The result from this study indicate that HQS AB had a successful market entry to Nigeria mainly because networking help them get in touch with partners that could add value by providing valuable connections that eventually helped HQS AB to start their business in Nigeria. Moreover, by attaining tacit knowledge in Nigeria, HQS AB managed to handle challenges in Nigeria such as the complex bureaucracy system and the business culture in the country.